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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22463137">Not normal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Homestuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Child Abuse, Hurt No Comfort, Mental Instability, Realization</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:06:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22463137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave comes to terms with the fact that the way bro treats him is not normal.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Egbert &amp; Dave Strider</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Not normal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>READ TAGS<br/>THIS FIC DEPICTS MOMENTS OF ABUSE<br/>.<br/>.<br/>.</p><p>Quick 4 am drabble with no proof reading</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TG: john<br/>
TG: question<br/>
EB: dave, answer.<br/>
TG: what does your dad do when youre in trouble<br/>
EB: what?<br/>
TG: just answer the question<br/>
EB: well i guess he just gives these really long speeches about how what i did was wrong and i shouldn't do it again.<br/>
EB: he takes my stuff away for like a day too, sometimes.<br/>
EB: it's usually because I talk back.</p><p>You stop typing a response and thing for a moment. Having things taken away as a punishment wasn't exactly an idea that was foreign to you, though it was usually longer than a day. About a month sounds right. Along with a beating and total isolation.<br/>
Talking back would usually get you backhanded so hard you see stars.<br/>
You think back to the one time you did talk back.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>________ </p>
</div><p> </p><p>"You don't have to be such a fucking dick all the time!" You yell. You're tired of your brother constantly verbally berating you for any small thing you do. You finally decided to stand up for yourself but the result is less than satisfactory. </p><p>SMACK</p><p>You raise a quivering hand to where your face is now slightly red and stinging. Oh great, you pushed a button now. You know now that bro's pussed there's no way to get away from him.</p><p>"Don't you ever fuckin' talk back to me, ya hear?" He hisses through his cigar-bitten breath.</p><p>You just slowly nod as your breathing picks up in slight panic and your throat feels tight, just way too tight and you need to get out now.</p><p>You're more than surprised when your bro just decides to walk away without continuing his tirade. You seize the opportunity to run up to your room and lock it. It just feels safer locked.</p><p>You sit down and decide to get back in pesterchum hoping to forget about what has happened today.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>________ </p>
</div><p> </p><p>TG: has your dad ever done any prepping for the real world<br/>
EB: you mean like… talking about puberty?<br/>
TG: uh<br/>
TG: no</p><p>You feel honestly shocked that he hasn't a clue what you're talking about.</p><p>TG: like<br/>
TG: my bro teaches me epic combat skills with a kickass katana on the rooftop<br/>
EB: i uh,<br/>
EB: can't say that my father has ever done that.<br/>
EB: sounds cool though!</p><p> </p><p>You internally scoff. Yeah "cool" sure.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>________ </p>
</div><p> </p><p>You're breathing heavy as sweat slicks down your hair. You feel the cool drops running over your face as you stay alert, watching for any attack.</p><p>CLANG</p><p>Shit! You didn't look behind you! Dumbass! You feel yourself fall forward as soon as the sword made contact behind your knees. You fall head first into the concrete of the rooftop and you immediately curl into a ball, clutching your head. Fucking JESUS that hurt. You open your eyes and everything's blurry. You can barely see and you whimper. </p><p>"Get up." The rough voice of bro startles you out of your stupor as you try to get yo but your body just won't respond and you're panicking. Get up get up get up get up. "I said get up." His tone takes on an even icier chill as yours hurry to get yourself up. </p><p> </p><p>It takes a moment to even get up on your knees because you're shaking really hard and you can barely muster the strength to hold up and arm at this point. You finally heave yourself up onto your feet and hold your katana with even worse posture than before. You knew the moment you hit the ground you lost. You're going to fail and piss off bro and you're gonna get it. It's what you deserve. It's how the real world works. If you fail you're gonna get your ass kicked.</p><p> </p><p>You try to turn around before you get your ass handed to you but you're too slow and bro easily sweeps you off your feet as you fall to the ground once more. You're quick to try and get up but bro is quicker with a swift kick to the ribs and you swear you heard something crack. Something had to because oh lord you are in so much pain. You struggle to breathe for a second, clutching your side and coughing violently. </p><p>"Seriously?" He asks, unimpressed and looking over you intimidatingly. </p><p>"Wait--" you're cut off as his foot connects with your ribs for a second time.</p><p>"No one's gonna wait for you to take a breather in the real world Dave. They're gonna take aby opportunity they can to strike down. I'm teaching you defend yourself and you cant even do that right." He punctuates his sentence with a third kick to the ribs.</p><p>It hurts ten times more to breathe now and you're not even sure if you are breathing at this point. You feel scared. You don't know why. You know your bro is just teaching you how to defend yourself but you're terrified of him for some reason and you can't stop shaking or get up. You just clench your eyes closed and prepare for the onslaught of kicks you're about to receive. </p><p>Nothing could brace you for the multitude of harsh kicks to your ribs and stomach. By the time he's done he just spits out a "Pathetic." and walks back into the apartment, leaving you to take care of your own wounds. </p><p> </p><p>You try so hard to hold it back but you end up crying on the rooftop. Everything just hurts so bad and you're so, so tired of everything. You feel numb emotionally and only pain physically. This fucking sucks.</p><p>You finally peel yourself off the rooftop and limp inside to take care of yourself in the bathroom.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>________ </p>
</div><p> </p><p>TG: yea man totally cool<br/>
TG: its like im being trained to be a ninja<br/>
EB: yeah!<br/>
EB: i just uhm…<br/>
EB: i'm concerned about why you're asking me this?<br/>
EB: are you being<br/>
EB: y'know<br/>
EB: uhh abused?<br/>
EB: you always complain that bro kicks your ass and i thought you were joking at first but if you guys are fighting on the rooftop<br/>
EB: it's… :/</p><p>What the fuck? Abused? No. Of course not. The way bro treats you is… well… it's not normal but dammit! He's just trying to help you, right?</p><p>TG: dude no<br/>
TG: im not<br/>
EB: are you sure?<br/>
EB: i'm concerned.<br/>
TG: yeah im fucking sure<br/>
TG: jesus<br/>
EB: ok! sorry!<br/>
EB: i just am worried about you.<br/>
TG: fuck egbert would it kill you to mind your own business for two seconds</p><p>You slam your laptop shut, trying to ignore the conversation you just had but it's hopeless. You lay down on your bed and stare at the ceiling, giving what john said some thought. You angrily groan and turn on your side, deciding to go to sleep instead.</p>
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